Daily Devotion – An Extraordinary Love

I had a friend once who would wisely say, “I don’t like this person all that much, so I need to get to know them better.”

And he did, because he knew that loving doesn’t always come easy to us. It can take some effort to love those we disagree with, or to enjoy the company of those who are different from us. The ones that do and say things that rub us the wrong way; the ones deemed cringe-worthy by popular opinion.

Here’s the thing, if we’re only loving the good ones, then we’re loving to get something back. Maybe it’s a good time, maybe it’s a laugh, maybe it’s a sense of security… Whatever the payback is will never compare to the reward of loving our enemies as we give ourselves over to God. Pure and unadulterated love, cares first and asks questions later. If you’re always seeking an emotional love, you’re missing out on extraordinary love. This is the love that sent Jesus to the cross; an extraordinary love that gives without getting and offers grace to the sinner, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Love is never wasted, for its value does not rest upon reciprocity. – C.S. Lewis

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Tilling the Soil

Think of three people (each day this week) that you either don’t get along with or don’t really click with and take a few minutes to pray for them.

Planting Hope

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2, NIV)

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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.